An Israel Prison Service van leaves Damon Prison in October 2011. File Photo by Nimrod Hlikman/EPA
Three Palestinian detainees held captive by Israel have been interviewed by a prisoner rights commission, detailing allegations of torture at a notorious Israeli facility.
A lawyer for the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, a governmental body of the Palestinian Authority, visited the three captives at the Ofer Prison last week, officials said in a statement. Advertisement
Mohammad Jamous, 44, has been held prisoner by Israel since last March. The other two prisoners are administrative detainees, 39-year-old Fadi Ayyad and 38-year-old Fadi Hqaidi, according to the commission.
The captives recounted the “overwhelming pain” and “inhumane treatment” they experienced at the hands of their Israeli jailers.
“They used dogs to terrify and attack us, and sprayed pepper spray and tear gas in our cells without any reason,” the captives said in a joint statement, adding that their Israeli jailers “broke our bones and left us bleeding from the heads and all body parts.”
The captives said Palestinians face a journey toward death from the first moment of being captured by Israeli authorities.
“We were stripped of our clothes, intensively beaten, tortured and assaulted. They shackled our hands and feet and blindfolded our eyes. We were turned into prey to these monsters, who enjoyed our hunger, thirst, screams and illnesses,” the captives said. Advertisement
“We don’t exaggerate when we say that most Gaza detainees have fainted several times due to intense beatings. We witnessed the deaths of many detainees, such as Islam Sarsawi, who died from being beaten and tortured.”
The captives said Palestinian prisoners also become sick but do not receive medical treatment.
Nearly 10,000 Palestinians are currently held by Israel in prisons, excluding many from Gaza. About 3,432 of them are under administrative detention, which allows Israel to indefinitely keep them captive without trial.
The human rights group Amnesty International has said the practice has “dramatically increased” since the war. Palestinians and their supporters often equate this practice to kidnapping.
Amnesty International has documented cases of Israeli soldiers torturing Palestinian detainees, including “severe beatings” and “humiliation.” The human rights group said that such torture had been occurring “for decades” before Hamas’ attack Oct. 7.
And, Israeli forces have continued to detain dozens of journalists and healthcare workers in Gaza.
